I was recently introduced to a poet by a colleague of mine in the anthropology program at CIIS (California Institute of Integral Studies). The poem No Te Salves (Don’t Save Yourself, or alternately Don’t Play it Safe) affects me deeply and I was haunted by its presence in me, its beauty and power.
Its author, the famous Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti (September 14, 1920 – May 17, 2009) was amongst the most important Latin American literary figures of the 20th century. He was not well-known in the West, which is not a surprise. He lived in exile in Argentina, Peru, Cuba, and then Spain when a dictatorship ruled his native country Uruguay.
His poem, No Te Salves, is recited in this video by famous Argentinian actor Miguel Angel Sola.
The English translation is subtitled on the screen.
The English translation written on this post, which is slightly different from the video subtitles, were written by colleague/friend/activist Alejandro Urruzmendi.
For those of you who want the entire poem written in both languages, it is below the video.
My other favorite poem by him follows.
English translation:
DO NOT SAVE YOURSELF (No Te Salves)
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Another poem of Mario Benedetti that I love is El Sur Tambien Existe, or The South Also Exists, which is a passionate indictment to US Foreign policy.
El Sur Tambien Existe
Con su ritual de acero
sus grandes chimeneas
sus sabios clandestinos
su canto de sirenas
sus cielos de neón
sus ventanas navideñas
su culto a dios padre
y de las charreteras
con sus llaves del reino
el norte es el que ordena
pero aquí abajo
abajo el hambre disponible
recorre el fruto amargo
de lo que otros deciden
mientras que el tiempo pasa
y pasan los desfiles
y se hacen otras cosas
que el norte no prohíbe
con su esperanza dura
el sur también existe
con sus predicadores
sus gases que envenenan
su escuela de chicago
sus dueños de la tierra
con sus trapos de lujo
y su pobre osamenta
sus defensas gastadas
sus gastos de defensa
son su gesta invasora
el norte es el que ordena
pero aquí abajo
abajo cada uno en su escondite
hay hombres y mujeres
que saben a qué asirse
aprovechando el sol
y también los eclipses
apartando lo inútil
y usando lo que sirve
con su fe veterana
el sur también existe
English Translation:
THE SOUTH ALSO EXISTS (El Sur Tambien Existe)
With its ritual of steel
Its great chimneys
Its secret scholars
Its siren song
Its neon skies
Its Christmas sales
Its cult of God the Father
And of epaulets
With its keys
to the kingdom
The North is the one
who orders
But down here, down
Hunger at hand
Resorts to the bitter fruit
Of what others decide
While time passes
And pass the parades
And other things
That the North does not forbid.
With its hard hope
The South also exists.
With its preachers
Its poison gases
Its ChicagoSchool
Its owners of the Earth
With its luxurious costume
And its meager frame
Its expenses of defense
With its epic of invasion
The North is the one who orders
Bud down here, down
Each in their hideaway
Are men and women
Who know what to grasp
Making the most of the sun
And eclipses
Putting useless things aside
And using what is useful.
With its veteran faith
The South also exists.
With its French horn
And its SwedishAcademy
Its American sauce
And its English wrenches
With all its missiles
And its encyclopedias
Its war of galaxies
And its rich cruelty
With all its laurels
The North is the one who orders
Bud down here, down
Near the roots
Is where memory
Omits no memory
And there are those
Who defy death for
And die for
And thus together achieve
What is impossible
That the whole world
would know
That the South,
That the South also exists.
English translation by Yoshie Furuhashi.
AI NO KO 